TY - JOUR
T1 - A programmatic intervention to promote entrepreneurial self-efficacy, critical behavior, and technology readiness among underrepresented college students
AU - Cadenas, Germán A.
AU - Cantú, Elizabeth Angélica
AU - Lynn, Nathalie
AU - Spence, Tameka
AU - Ruth, Alissa
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation [grant number 2016-154100 (4012) ].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2020/2
Y1 - 2020/2
N2 - Underrepresented students face challenges in accessing entrepreneurial education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In attempts to address this deficit, a five-week social entrepreneurship program (named Poder) with a focus on technology was implemented at one of the largest community college systems in the U.S. Conceptually, the program curriculum was grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and Critical Consciousness, two approaches noted for helping underserved students. In order to evaluate the efficacy of the program, students from diverse backgrounds (n = 106) completed pre- and post-test measures, which included instruments assessing entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial skills, civic participation, critical behavior, technology optimism, and technology innovation. Results from paired samples t-tests and a series of repeated measures mixed-design ANOVAS suggest that students experienced significant increases in all outcome measures, except for civic participation, and effects were not moderated by race/ethnicity, gender, or immigration status. These results suggest that the program, designed with a culturally responsive curriculum, was effective in promoting the career development of culturally diverse and underrepresented students. We discuss conceptual and practical contributions for addressing educational attainment gaps and systemic issues in entrepreneurship and STEM education.
AB - Underrepresented students face challenges in accessing entrepreneurial education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In attempts to address this deficit, a five-week social entrepreneurship program (named Poder) with a focus on technology was implemented at one of the largest community college systems in the U.S. Conceptually, the program curriculum was grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and Critical Consciousness, two approaches noted for helping underserved students. In order to evaluate the efficacy of the program, students from diverse backgrounds (n = 106) completed pre- and post-test measures, which included instruments assessing entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial skills, civic participation, critical behavior, technology optimism, and technology innovation. Results from paired samples t-tests and a series of repeated measures mixed-design ANOVAS suggest that students experienced significant increases in all outcome measures, except for civic participation, and effects were not moderated by race/ethnicity, gender, or immigration status. These results suggest that the program, designed with a culturally responsive curriculum, was effective in promoting the career development of culturally diverse and underrepresented students. We discuss conceptual and practical contributions for addressing educational attainment gaps and systemic issues in entrepreneurship and STEM education.
KW - Community college
KW - Critical entrepreneurship
KW - STEM education
KW - Social cognitive career theory
KW - Underrepresented students
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103350
DO - 10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103350
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075401913
SN - 0001-8791
VL - 116
JO - Journal of Vocational Behavior
JF - Journal of Vocational Behavior
M1 - 103350
ER -